The Sky Turned Black Like A Perfect Storm
by choose joy xox
Summary: What if the reveAl had gone differently? What if it wasn't Cece in the hoodie? A speculation on what may have happened if a popular fan theory had been the truth. How would have it played out differently?
1. Chapter 1

**I want to start by saying I AM GENUINELY OKAY WITH THE FINALE.. I think Cece makes complete sense. There were a couple plot holes, but overall they weren't bad at all!**

 **But this is something that I think a lot of people need to hear for their own sanity. This is how the reveal could have gone if someone else had been A. It's almost DONE, but I'm not sure if I'm going to post the rest or not. I guess it depends on the response, because I get the impression that a lot of people are upset about the finale. So I don't know how many people will read.**

 **My other stories. "Remember Me will be updated as fast as I can get it. I just am not in the same headspace as when I started and I'm struggling to get it where I need it to go. I may take it down while I think, but have hope friends. I will update it soon. Heroes Don't Look Like They Used to is pretty much done. I just need to proofread, change a couple things, and I'll post it tonight. There's an important Author's Note in that one, so read it!**

 **ANYWAY, let me know what you think and if you think that I should continue. But as you consider that, just know that in true ME fashion, I cannot promise you a happy ending to this.**

 **SPOV**

Her mind was anywhere but on A as they examined the vault-like room they were trapped in. Maybe it was poor timing, but the white washed walls, the anonymity, and the technology were all reminiscent of the Philadelphia branch of the law office that her parents owned. She had only been once, a few weeks into her Junior year, when A meant nothing but nasty texts and spilled secrets. It was funny how she longed for the beginning of what was the most trying time of her life. If only she could warn her past self about what was to come.

 _She clutched the manila envelop to herself, not willing to deal with the verbal barrage she was sure to get later of the documents were creased or wrinkled. God forbid the Hastings produce anything that was less than perfect._

 _She perked up as she rounded the hall outside of her mom's office. She took particular care on her appearance and demeanor today. Maybe if the family matriarch saw that she looking like a Hastings she would invite her to dinner in the city. She admired her reflection her her mom's office door. She looked pretty good. Melissa would have somehow managed to wrangle her curls in a more appealing manner, but she was sure that she looked acceptable enough to garnish her mother's approval._

 _She knocked on the door and waited for some kind of invitation to enter. She took the muffled grunt she heard for approval and pushed through the heavy door. "Mom? I brought the Johnson brief you needed."_

 _Her mom looked up, haggard and relieved. "Thank you sweetheart. I need to get out of her, but I can't finish this document without that. Perfect timing."_

 _She nodded, lingering in the doorway. "Mom?"_

 _She looked back up again. "Mmm? Oh do you need money for the train? Let me get my purse. I'll be home late, so I can slip in a little more. Maybe you can get dinner with your friends? My treat."_

 _"What are you doing?" She asked softly, trying to ignore the sharp sting of disappointment in her stomach._

 _"Oh!" She smiled. "I forgot to tell you. Your sister has a new boyfriend. Some doctor. We're taking them out to dinner. They should actually be here anytime."_

 _The money was heavy in her hand. She had to get out of her before she cried. Would there ever be a time when her parents put her and Melissa on an equal footing? Because right now Melissa was on a pedestal so high that she'd break her neck if she fell off of it. There was no way that Spencer would ever be able to measure up. Why did she even try?_

Somehow, while she was lost to the memories, Mona had managed to get some kind of feed on the screen. Alison... A... they were in the same room. And for the life of her she couldn't bring herself to worry about Alison. All that she felt right now was frustration. Because she knew him. She knew that she knew A, and she couldn't figure it out. What was she missing?

She stared at the screen, analyzing every part of the man who faced the window, the one that had been tormenting them for years. Who could it be? Because surely it had to be someone that they knew. A stranger wouldn't do this to four random girls. No, what A was doing to them was personal.

But even in the midst of all the chaos the guilt still weighed heavily in her stomach. She had told Toby that she wouldn't go. She told him and then she did it anyway. She was the worst. And the longer they were here the more she was regretting that particular decision. Maybe they should have waited for him?

"Who is that?" Hanna whispered, like they could hear her.

"I don't know," Mona immediately replied, "but they're in Radley."

She noticed the small R against the door frame as soon as Mona uttered the words. "That doesn't help if we can't get out of here. Maybe..." She eyed the blinking lights apprehensively. There was something off there, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Alison's eyes lingered off camera. "What did you do?" Her head whipped toward A's silhouette. " _What did you do?_ "

The camera flickered lightning quickly from Alison and A, but it was long enough to cause her to nearly fall to her trembling knees. The blank, dead faces of the DiLaurentis men were seared in her mind, even though they were no longer on the screen. She didn't particularly care about Kenneth DiLaurentis, but she absolutely did care about Jason, the only person in her family that made her feel worthwhile. He couldn't- he couldn't possibly be _gone._

"Don't be so dramatic, Ali. They're not dead, they're just a little drugged up."

The same eerie feeling she got back in the dollhouse. There was something familiar about him. The slant of his shoulder, the height, the body... she knew Charles. She knew that she did, but she didn't recognize the anonymous figure's detached voice. She was sure that she heard it before, but it didn't belong to anyone that immediately came to mind. It was like the answer to a long forgotten decathlon question, the word she was searching for just barely tickling the back of her mind. "I know him," she whispered to herself. "I know that I know him."

She sucked in a anticipatory breath as the hooded figure swooped around. But as the baby face and mop of brown curls registered in her mind she wished that he would turn back around.

"Wren?" Hanna shrieked. "Please tell me I'm dreaming. Someone pinch me, okay?"

"Where's his accent?" Emily whispered. "He doesn't have an accent right? I'm not imagining this..."

Wren. Wren was A. She stared at the face of the boy that, if it weren't for Toby, she very may well have fallen for. The boy who held her up when she didn't want to keep going, the boy who chose her over Melissa, the one who helped her get through her dark times... he was A? He was still talking, but she was in shock. She was hearing none of it. Wren. **_Wren._**

She cared about him. She didn't love him, but she could have. It actually terrified her how much she could have. If she hadn't had Toby... if she hadn't known and felt what real, true, pure love was like... Wren might have seemed like an option. At the time she thought that he had genuinely cared for her... but now she wasn't so sure. But what she did know was that while this felt like a betrayal of epic proportions, nothing would ever top that cold, rainy November. This felt like a bee sting in comparison, and that was what she had to focus on or else she would go insane.

 _"I thought you were into me?" Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew that Wren wasn't who she wanted. She just wanted Toby, but she wanted Toby to be safe more than she wanted him. That was not her primary concern when it came to Wren._

 _His lips were right above hers. "I am. Very much so. That's why I can't do this."_

 _She flopped back on the couch, playing at being annoyed, but she was secretly relieved. Wren wasn't who she wanted. Maybe in another world he would be perfect. The kind of guy, if she hadn't stolen him from her sister, that would fit in with her family. The kind of guy her parents would be proud to introduce at their social events. She could just hear them. Our daughter, dating the doctor. She could even have made them proud for a second, if not for the only time in her whole life. The only time she ever outshined Melissa._

 _But Wren wasn't who she wanted. She wanted Toby, and she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to turn that off._

She only tore herself from her memories when a shocked squeak came from Aria. She looked back up at the screen and started at the literal eye contact she was making with her nightmare come true. She always knew that A had to be someone close to them, but Wren? **_Wren?_** Wren's lips shifted into an eerie grin. "God help the mister who gets between me and my sister."

In that moment she felt true fear the likes of which she wasn't sure that she had ever felt. When she thought Toby was dead all she felt was anguish. When Hanna got hit by the car she felt rage. When Wren antagonized them she was determined to find a way to end it. But when she looked into Wren's crazed eyes, and listened to the voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, she felt deep, primal fear. Why was he doing this? Why was he letting them see his face?

She had heard enough. "I don't know what the hell he's planning, but we need to get to Radley before he has a chance to do it."

"Little problem, Spence," Aria interjected. "We're trapped, and it doesn't sound like Sara is making much headway on getting us out of here."

"She probably ran off to get another shower," Hanna mumbled, pointedly looking at Emily. In another crowd Hanna's reaction would seem inappropriate, but she knew that the blonde dealt with angst by upping the sarcasm and humor. If anyone had as much reason as she did to be upset it was Hanna. They had both nearly fallen for Downton Abbey.

Spencer did waste anytime. "This panel's different," she gestured to the one that seemed off earlier. She had to keep going or she was going to curl up in a ball and never move again. "The other ones are blinking randomly, but this one's static. It has to mean something."

Mona's eyes never left the screen as she slipped a club looking thing out of the folds of her cloak. "I stole this from a cop in Scranton. Break the glass and go. I have to stay."

"Mona," Hanna implored. "We can't leave you behind."

"And I can't go," Mona said immediately. "I need to know how this ends."

For the second time in a night Spencer was tuning out the rest of the world. She would rather not know how it ends, if she were being honest. Because Wren, if absolutely nothing else, had to be the smartest person she knew outside of Mona and her immediate family. He couldn't have a good end for this night. He had kept this game going for years. He wasn't giving up because he was tired. He had a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry to do this to you, but actually I'm not :).**

 **It's Sunday. I'm a teacher. This means I will PROBABLY not update again until Friday, to be perfectly honest, unless life is easy this week. We shall see. But you know me. Reviews will definitely make the updates come faster.**

Chapter 2

TPOV

He could have every word in the English language at his disposal and he still wouldn't have sufficient words to describe the anguish that burned in his stomach when he saw that Spencer wasn't where he left her. All he could see was her heartbroken face when she stumbled into his arms outside of that dungeon.

When she was missing, that terrible month without her, he had to force himself to keep going. He had to force himself to keep moving or else he would fall deep into every kind of thought he had to avoid. He would think of her cold, still body somewhere in the woods. He would think of A hurting her or making her do things that she would never get over. He would imagine her calling out to him, begging him to help her. But he couldn't. He never could. So he had to keep moving. Because there was no way that he would ever give up on her. There wasn't much that he believed in, but he did believe in Spencer. He knew he would find her, and he did.

But this? He had a feeling he was going to need all the strength he could muster to get them out of this. He uttered a quiet curse and dialed her number again. Embarrassing tears of frustration welled up in his eyes. She always did this. He loved her more than he could say. He loved her more with every breath that he took. But sometimes she made him so angry that he couldn't see straight. What was she thinking? Why couldn't she just _wait?_

He turned and saw Tanner and Lorenzo approaching as he took a steadying breath. "Spencer, I swear to God I will tear this town apart if I don't hear back from you in a few minutes."

To an outside observer that may sound like a figure of speech, but he had no qualms about going to extremes to protect her. She was all that he had, and there was no way in hell that he would leave her to defend herself. He had to find her, because no one would be hurting her while he was there.

 _"Toby?"_

 _He grunted, prying his sleep weary eyes open. "You okay?"_

 _She shook her head, her dark curls hitting her cheeks. "I um- I-"_

 _He sat up, tugging her body into his chest, wrapping both arms around her shoulders. She still refused to talk about went down in that horrible place, but from her frantic eyes and tired movements he could only imagine the horrors that she faced. Spencer had gone through disaster after disaster in her short life and she met it head on. But he had never seen her react like this. It was like she was defeated._

 _"Remember what I told you," he murmured into her sweet smelling hair. "You're never alone, Spence. I don't know what happened to you in there, and I may never know. But that's okay. What I can tell you is that you're safe with me. You can sleep. You can rest, because I won't let anything hurt you."_

 _She nuzzled her cheek into his bare chest. "How can you be so sure?"_

 _"That you're safe with me?" He asked softly, fighting to keep the incredulous tone from his voice. "Spencer, I don't think that you have fully comprehended the lengths that I could go to to protect you."_

 _She laughed softly. "Says the one that joined up with the devil."_

 _He frowned, brushing his lips over her temple. "Tip of the ice burg," he whispered. There wasn't a single thing in the world that he wouldn't do for her, and sometimes that scared him. But most of the time it was a comfort, because he knew that as long as she was with him he could keep her safe._

"Cavanaugh, where would they have gone?"

Toby shook his head angrily. "They have this insane, impenetrable sense of loyalty toward each other. I never should have left them alone. They went after Alison."

Tanner rolled her eyes. "I need more than that. Where's Alison?"

He threw up his hands. "If I knew that do you think that I'd be here talking to you?"

"Cavanaugh-"

He shook his head, jamming the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I can't- I can't do this right now. I have to find her." He could hear Tanner calling his name as he spun around, tearing through the throngs of high schoolers. His chest ached for what they should have. That one dance they shared earlier... that was how it should be. He should have been able to rent a tux and a limo. He should have stressed over matching his tie to her dress. Her biggest worry should have been how she was going to manage dancing all night in the ridiculous heels that girls insisted on wearing.

But instead they continuously dealt with blood and death and mystery. His girlfriend, the person that he loved more than anyone or anything in the world, had her childhood stolen from her. He couldn't get it back, but he would be damned if he let her pain continue for another minute. This was going to end tonight.

He climbed into his truck, his heart heavy with thoughts of Spencer. His mind was telling him to keep pushing forward, that he'd find her. But his heart was running through the condition that he might find her in. They have had too many circumstances of near escape. What if this was the time they moved too slow? What if their brushes with death because an actual, irreversible tragedy.

He started as the passenger door was yanked open. "I managed to ditch Fitz, but if you think you're doing this without me you've lost your fucking marbles, man."

Caleb was probably the only other person on the planet who knew what he was feeling right now, so he was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of endless gratitude. Doing this alone would be impossible. If he ran off alone he would be as bad as his idiot girlfriend. "Do you know where they are?"

"I put a tracker in Hanna's phone when they got back. I told her I dismantled it, but I lied." He pressed a few buttons on his phone, his forehead crinkling in confusion. "The signal is weak, but I'm pretty sure- I think they're at Radley."

That was all that he needed to hear to ram his foot into the gas peddle. The engine roared as he tore out onto the rough pavement. Of course they were at Radley. Didn't this all lead back there?

It only took him a moment to get there, but it was a moment too long. She was alone. She was vulnerable. It didn't matter that her friends were there. They were slowly becoming his friends too, and because of that he knew how much they all looked to Spencer to be their leader. He knew that Spencer knew that. She felt responsibility toward them, and because of that she would put herself in harms way if it meant that they stayed safe. That wasn't speculation. It was horrible, terrifying fact. He had to find her.

"We need-"

But Caleb's words were lost to the night as an ear shattering explosion filled the silence. His ears rang and he was suddenly blinded by bright oranges and reds. He braced himself against the truck as dust and rubble bounced off of his shoulders. Bricks rained around them as what was left of Radley Sanitarium settled to the ground around them.

He was numb. He didn't feel anything as he stared up at the building. It couldn't be true. She wasn't in there. Caleb's tracker was wrong. Something was wrong, because his mind would not accept that fact that the love of his life had been inside of the building that just exploded.


	3. Chapter 3

**You might think that I'm not going to do what it appears I'm going to do. YOu might be right. You might be wrong. I invite you to read my other stories and remember that I'm not afraid of character death, just saying.**

 **I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, and the thing that I find the most unrealistic about this show is that everyone always escapes. I don't believe that is likely at all. :). Also, I lied. This is going to be six chapters... I can hear your disappointment :)**

Chapter 3

SPOV

She sucked in a shallow breath as they ran up the forbidding walkway to Radley. A sense of fear settled deep in her stomach, just as it always did when she approached the building that housed some of her life's worst moments. She didn't remember much of her time in Radley, but the flashes that she remembered were nearly debilitating in the angst that they caused her.

She loved Toby more than she could express in words, and she had a fairly expansive vocabulary. Thinking that he betrayed her, the only person on the planet that she thought she was free to love with her whole heart, was a nearly fatal blow. Radley was a blur, but what she did remember was the permeating desire to not be Spencer Hastings anymore. And if she hadn't found Toby when she had she might have acted on that desire.

But it didn't matter anymore, because she _had_ found Toby. She had found him and he loved her, and that, if absolutely nothing else, made being Spencer Hastings worth it. If Toby loved her she could get through everything.

But this would certainly be a test of that.

As they entered the haggard double doors it was like the atmosphere changed. There was something about Radley that sucked the life right out of your soul. She was scared.

Hanna's piercing screech pulled her from her troubling memories. "Did you just see that?"

She caught sight of a red hood ducking around the corner. "I thought that Ali was Red Coat?"

Emily snorted. "Guess not." She chased after one of the key figures in their nightmarish high school experience, but when they rounded the corner behind her they realized that they needn't have run.

The devil in red was staring at them, her bright blue eyes as cold and empty as they had every seen them. She was momentarily concerned about the sight of their "best friend," the one they had fought for and given up everything for, in front of them in the infamous red hoodie. It was a devastating blow to find out that Alison was Red Coat. But all of that could wait, because she couldn't tear her wondering eyes from the wired barrels behind her. "What is this?"

Alison laughed bitterly. "It was my only way out, you know? Becoming Red Coat wasn't my first choice, I just wanted you to figure out who had attacked me..."

Emily looked devastated, and she supposed that she understood that. Emily and Alison has always had a deeper relationship, one that none of them really knew the extent of. Aria looked confused, and Hanna looked pissed. Honestly, she was more annoyed that she let her suspicion of Alison go. She knew that there was something about the way that she disappeared that she didn't trust. She let down her friends, her sisters. And she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to forgive herself for that.

"What the hell are you talking about, Alison?" Aria snapped.

It was usually her job to question people, but her eyes were still trained on the barrels. This wasn't going to end well. "Don't worry about that right now," she interrupted. "It doesn't matter. We have to get out of here."

"Spencer, what-"

Spencer interrupted Hanna's annoyed interjection with a shake her head. "Go!"

"You bitches really should listen to Spencer more often."

If it wasn't her life it would have been comical how the four of them jumped in sync. She turned around, and for the first time looked into Wren Kingston's crazed eyes without the distortion of a TV screen, and it literally chilled her to the bone. To see someone she genuinely cared about look so different and exactly the same at the same time. But maybe the most terrifying part was the silky, unfamiliar, tone of his accent-less voice. "Wren, I-"

"What?" He snapped. "Didn't think I was capable of this? Didn't think that lowly, spineless Dr. Kingston was capable of anything more than hitting on little girls?"

Hanna shrugged. "Maybe. Because us turning you down is the only motivation that you possibly could have for doing this to us." She sounded more than a little hysterical, which was more Emily's scene than Hanna's; a distinct mark of the seriousness of the situation.

Wren let out a noise that was indistinguishable. It was something between a shriek and a laugh. "You think that's all that you did to me?"

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. "Aren't you going to explain?" Aria asked hesitantly.

Wren snorted. "This isn't a movie, and I'm not the super villain that you're about to foil. Alison, it's time. Do it."

Alison's expression had taken on something completely new. There were tears welling up in her big, blue eyes Tears of fear, anguish... whatever it was she didn't know. Her eyes dropped to Alison's shaking hand and the trigger clasped between her trembling fingers "Ali..." she said softly.

Alison shook her head, her blonde curls smacking her in the face. "No! No, stop. I don't want to do this. I never wanted to do this. But I have to. I've screwed up a lot in my life, but I'm going to see this through. Do any of us really deserve to make it out of here?"

"Alison, what are you doing?" Emily whispered. "Stop. Drop it."

It didn't take a genius to see that Radley was rigged to blow up, and they were all right in the epicenter of what was sure to be an explosion that rocks the entire town. "Guys, just run," Spencer said softly, never taking her eyes off of Alison. "Go."

She heard rustling behind her, and just as she was about to join them a large hand curled around her wrist in a vice grip. "No, I want you to stay." Wren's smooth, British accent was back. "You're the guest of honor, didn't you know? I tried to let this go, Spencer. I tried to let it go, but you would never give me the time of day. You were so focused on that carpenter that you didn't see how desperate I was. If you had just- If you had just picked me I could have let my vendetta against my family go and maybe none of this would have happened."

"I don't understand!" She was trying to stay calm, but hysteria was seeping in. Her friends probably didn't even realize that had left her behind in the panic. "What are you talking about? Why would you even target us to begin with. I get your family, but what did _we_ do? I may have never wanted you, but I certainly was never cruel enough to deserve this."

He laughed bitterly. "You seriously don't remember what you did to Bethany, do you? I always thought it was a ploy, but maybe it isn't."

"Wha-"

He didn't even let her get a full work out before tightening his grip on her wrist and turning to Alison. If she wasn't so afraid she was sure she'd be doubled over in pain. He was crushing her arm with his hand. "Now, Alison!"

Ali gave her one more apologetic look before pressing the red button. It was like it happened in slow motion, the exploding barrels, the fire, the heat. The explosion shot her and Wren into the thick, brick wall behind them. Her head bounced off the brick, stunning her as she fell to the ground in a heap. Wren's heavy body was draped over her, ironically shielding her.

Blood dripped into her eyes as everything started to fade. Her ears were ringing in a tenor that was equal in pitch to the terrified screams she was sure to be admitting if she was able to. Her chest was on fire as her lungs filled up with smoke and dust. The world was fading into a mass of swirling oranges and reds. Something heavy fell on top of them, knocking the last of the air out of her chest and taking her consciousness along with it.

TPOV

If he wasn't convinced that there was something, _anything,_ he could do for her he would have fallen to his knees in an inconsolable heap. But he had to convince himself that there was something he could do to save her. That was what was going to keep him going.

Three shadows stumbled out of the wreckage of the building, and in that moment he knew, _he knew,_ that Spencer was the one that got left behind. She was so infuriatingly desperate to keep her friends safe that she never considered the long term consequences, but only what would help in the interim.

But as he skidded to a stop in front of the three wheezing girls, none of which were the only one he cared about in that moment, he wanted to vomit. Knowing and having it confirmed were two drastically different things. "Where's Spencer?" He asked in a voice that was harsher than the one that he wanted to come out. But God, he was so tired of his girlfriend being the one to take the brunt for these three. They had all dealt with their share of suffering, but somehow, in the end, Spencer always seemed to be the one coming out the worst.

Hanna recovered first, swiping at the bloody gash on her cheek and shrugging out of Caleb's frantic embrace. "Oh my God. _Oh my God_ , she was supposed to be right behind us."

Emily was doubled over, coughing as loudly and painfully as he had ever heard. "She-" she let out another painful cough. "She told us to run."

He glanced from Emily back over his shoulder to the burning building. "Who was it?" He asked, in a hurried voice. "Who has been doing this?"

"Wren," Aria whispered. "He-"

He wasn't hearing anymore. He turned and darted the last few feet and up the imposing stairs of the Sanitarium that officially housed every single one of his nightmares. But this was decidedly moving into first place, because he couldn't imagine pulling her out of this unscathed. But what he did know was that he wasn't leaving until he found her.

He could hear the others bellowing his name behind him but he wasn't stopping. They could come if they wanted, but he wasn't going to pause to debate the merits of running into a crumbling, burning building. Spencer was everything to him and she was still inside. He wasn't going to stop until she was safe. He immediately paused seeing a red sleeve near where the nurse's station used to be. The rest of the body was covered in rubble, but he was fairly confident that he was safe to assume that this was the infamous Red Coat. In another time he would worry about her, but right now he had time for no one but Spencer.

A few feet to the left, he almost missed it, he saw a leg poking out from underneath a pile of broken bricks and piece of the ceiling. He was afraid to dig this one out, because if it was Spencer he couldn't imagine the damage this had done to her petite body. But he did it anyway, hauling away heavy bricks and debris from the pile. He was endlessly grateful for his carpentry induced muscles. If that's what it took to get her out of here, the irony wasn't lost on him. He thought that it would be the police that would save her, but in the end it was the result of hard, physical labor.

The last piece was the heaviest. He grunted as he struggled to pull it off. He glanced warily back at the growing fire before glancing down at the body that he had just freed. At first he was disappointed, because this was clearly Wren Kingston. For the first time in his life he was glad to see the extent of someone else's suffering. Wren's body was nothing more than blood, bruises, and twisted limbs. But then he noticed a much more petite hand below him. He shoved Wren out of the way and let out a sob of relief and horror when he saw that it was Spencer.

He found her. He chest was still moving, but that was the only good sign that he saw. Her hair was matted in blood and her eyes were open and vacant. Blood trailed down her face from a laceration on her forehead, and her arm was covered in burns, likely the side that was exposed to the explosion. There was probably infinitely worse damage, and he could be making it worse by moving her, but he didn't see any alternative.

He lifted her to his chest, cradling her like a baby into the safety of his suit jacket. As soon as he got outside, where the roar of the fire didn't fill his ears, he could hear her labored, rattling breathing. She had clearly inhaled a significant amount of smoke. Her other arm, the one that wasn't burnt, was twisted in an unnatural way, obviously badly broken. He lowered her into the waiting arms of the paramedics who were just arriving. He didn't ask for permission nor did he look to see what was going on with her friends before climbing into the ambulance. He sat in the back, watching them frantically working over her unresponsive body as the sped off to the hospital.

He wasn't sure what weighed heavier in his mind, anger or terror. But what he did know that he didn't plan on leaving her side until he knew that she was okay. She had to be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**So here's this? Idk I'm tired, I'm going to bed! You guys are brilliant! I'll have a better note next time promise. You guys are literally brilliant.**

 **This isn't the most importance chapter plot wise, but character wise it's pretty important. I love writing angsty Toby, let's be honest. It's my fav.**

Chapter 4

TPOV

Every single second that ticked by sent him deeper down the rabbit hole that was lined with regrets. He shouldn't have left her. He loved her more than the air that he breathed, but God, she lost every ounce of intelligence that she possessed. And that was saying something, because she was by far the smartest person that he had ever met. He should have known that should would do something stupid. She couldn't help herself. When she felt like someone she cared about was being threatened she lost all reason.

But he loved her. He loved her beyond any sense of rational thought. He loved her more than any single other thing on the planet, and if he could trade places with her right now he would gladly do it. Because seeing her hurt was infinitely more painful than shouldering the brunt of that pain himself. He would much rather take on all the physical pain in the world than watch her suffer through this, because then he at least would know that she was safe.

Now though? All he could think of was her broken body, and the way that Wren's body was twisted over hers. He was endlessly grateful that that bastard had taken the brunt of the beating for her, but his blood boiled at whatever had led them to be in that position in the first place. Was he planning on hurting her?

He winced and dropped to a hard, uncomfortable waiting room chair. He should have done a better job of protecting her. She always had his back when he needed her, but he consistently let her down when she needed him.

 _He sat sadly, among the rubble of the place that was always more a house than a home, and picked through the fragments of what remained. The explosion had taken out nearly everything, but there he was, still picking through the rubble in the pathetic hope that he might find something to make this worthwhile._

 _The hairs stood on the back of his neck, and he knew that she was there before she even said anything. "Are you okay?" She asked him softly._

 _He tilted his head back and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I just- I don't know."_

 _She lowered herself neck to him, sitting on the dusty ground. Sometimes he didn't fully appreciate how different she was from the rest of her family, but in moments like these, when she sat in a pile of debris in $400 pants, the differences were alarmingly highlighted. She put a solid hand on his thigh. "I think you do know," she murmured._

 _She always saw right through him. "I know it's dumb, but this was the last place I saw my mom happy," he muttered. "And now it's gone, and it feels like the last piece of her is gone too."_

 _Spencer pulled him down, into her body. He usually fought so hard not to burden her with his weight, but today he couldn't do it. He leaned into her, hiding his face in her soft curls. "I love you," she murmured, her words warming him all the way through._

 _"I love you too," he whispered, never meaning any three words more._

What was he supposed to do without her? Why hadn't she **listened?** If she had just stayed behind he would have been able to protect her. Nothing would have happened to her if he had been there, because he would have ripped Wren's arm off before he touched her. She would have gotten out with the rest of the girls.

 _Usually he put on a strong front for Spencer. Usually he had to be the strong one for her, but right now he was on the verge of crumbling to pieces. He had a bad feeling about this. "Spence-" he whispered, his voice catching._

 _She smiled sadly. "I promise. I'll be right here."_

 _He flanked her face with his trembling hands. "I can't lose you, Spencer. I thought- I thought that I could survive it as long as you were happy, but I was so fucking wrong. I need you. Please don't go anywhere."_

 _She shrugged out of his grip and nuzzled her way deeper into his arms. "I love you, Toby Cavanaugh. And I promise, I'll be right here."_

She lied. She lied, and he was so angry that he couldn't see straight. But waves of crippling worry crashed over him without warning, again and again and again. He couldn't see. He couldn't breath. He didn't _want_ to breath without her.

The doctor was talking to her mom across the room, and it could have been for five minutes or five hours, he had no idea. One one hand he saw their grave faces and Mrs. Hastings' frantic gestures. But his mind was so wrapped up in thoughts of Spencer. They said that your life flashed before your eyes before you died, and he couldn't imagine he would have much of a life without Spencer. Was this his mind's way of preparing him for what would be an insurmountable loss?

 _His lips melded to hers and it felt so amazing. Every good thing he had ever experienced didn't come close to measuring up to this moment. But then he felt the soft fabric of the hoodie that uncharacteristically covered her lithe frame, and all of the happiness that he had felt came crashing down around him. Because no matter what he did to protect her: no matter what he did now and no matter what he did in the future, it would never be enough to keep her safe. He was willing to give up everything, he was willing to lose **her,** as long as it meant that this anguish was gone from her life. But it backfired, as it always did. As everything in his life did. He was the consummate failure, after all._

 _"I'm sorry," Spencer whispered, her lips hovering just over his, her words practically whispered into his mouth. "I'm so sorry."_

 _He pulled back, keeping an arm curled around her. He couldn't imagine not touching her right now. "What are you talking about?" He asked her softly, giving her a questioning glance. What could she possibly have to apologize for, especially compared to his lengthy list?_

 _Tears clung to her eyelashes, streaks of black trailing down her cheeks. "I never should have believed that you were capable of this. I know you, and I know that this isn't you."_

 _His already fractured heart cracked more with every word that she said. "I wanted you to believe it, Spencer. You have nothing to apologize for. But I-"_

 _She shook her head, brushing her lips over his. "No," she murmured. "Don't."_

 _"Spencer-" he tried, but she kissed him again before pulling back._

 _He was taken aback by the love that he saw in her eyes. "I'm so mad at you, but even still, you don't have to apologize," she said softly. "I know who you are, Toby. I know every selfless, humble part of you, and you never have to apologize to me for being you."_

He shifted his focus as Mrs. Hastings made her way over to them. He hadn't spoken since he left the ambulance, and he didn't plan on speaking anytime soon. He wouldn't speak until he knew that she was going to be okay.

Her face was grim, but she was a lawyer. The ability to have a poker face was practically listed as a qualifier in the job description. "Mr. Kingston," she spat Wren's name out like it tasted badly. "is at the end of the hall if any of you would care to see him. He is in critical condition, but they are stabilizing him now. Spencer-" her voice broke as she said her daughter's name, "she's- she's alive, which is the most important thing. Apparently she's been fairly touch and go over the last hour. She lost a lot of blood and she hit her head really hard. She broke nine ribs, and they had to fix one of them in surgery after it collapsed her right lung. They're stabilizing her now though, and they're optimistic."

"Can we see her?" Hanna asked hopefully.

"Where's Alision?" Emily mumbled, almost looking embarrassed for asking.

"Alison didn't make it," Mrs. Hastings grimaced. "I feel badly for the poor girl. And as far as Spencer, one person at a time, because apparently we're going to disturb my unconscious daughter. I would like to go second, but I think that Toby should head back there first. He's the one she'd want to see first."

He had to pause for a solid minute before he could speak without reluctance dripping from every syllable. "Are you sure? She's your daughter, and-"

"Because she's my daughter I know she needs you right now," Mrs. Hastings admitted. "Go. Just- make sure nothing happens to her," Mrs. Hastings added. "Who knows how many people Wren had working for him?"

He would probably literally and truly kill anyone who tried to touch her right now. He didn't care what happened to him. "She'll always be safe with me," were the words that he settled on before pulling himself up and walking down the hall, the similarities between this time and last time he was here for her becoming more pronounced with every step.

She was alive.

That was the most important thing. She was alive, and he was never going to let her go. He was going to hold her until she ordered him away. And maybe he would still hang on for awhile after that.

There had been many times over the course of their relationship where he thought that he had lost her, most of them of his own doing. But none of them had had the potential permanence of the last month. He almost lost her for good, and that wasn't a feeling that he was going to soon forget. He loved her. God, did he love her. And the thought of losing her killed him.

He needed her, and he would do whatever it took to make sure that she was okay. He never gave up, and he wouldn't give up on her now. He didn't believe in much, but he believed in her. He believed in her passion and her tenacity. He believed in her will to live.

If anyone could get through this it was going to be Spencer Hastings.

At least, that's what he believed before he walked into her hospital room. Because when he walked inside and saw her tiny, pale body hooked up to machines and tubes and God knows what else, his knees buckled. It was all that he could do to make it to the chair before dissolving into painful, hysterical sobs. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be in this bed.

How was he supposed to make things okay for her when he couldn't even keep her safe? How was he supposed to be her safe place to land if there was an enemy behind every corner? How was he supposed to protect her.

He traced her unbandaged cheekbone with a trembling finger. He failed her again, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to live with that. He didn't deserve her. He should have protected her. He should have been there to keep her safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**We're nearing the end now! This is a little more abstract! I hope that you like it!**

Chapter 5

SPOV

She walked along the dark wooded path, shadows moving across the packed dirt like the hooked claws of demons reaching out from the trees to devour her. She was wearing a white nightgown that just barely skimmed the top of her knees. She didn't remember how she got here, and she didn't remember where she was going. But what she did know was that she was afraid.

Her hands were trembling. People were essentially animals who had primal instinct for danger. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and dread settled in her stomach. Something was wrong.

"Spencer?"

Usually when she heard Toby's voice she relaxed, but today her terror only grew and she didn't know why. She turned around slowly. Toby's eyes started happy, but that happiness quickly evaporated and was replaced with apprehension. "Do you have to?" His eyes trailed down to her hand.

She looked down, as soon as his eyes met her hand she felt something heavy clasped between her fingers for the first time. She glanced at her hand and saw a large knife. "Yes," she said. She didn't know why she said that. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do.

She took a step forward, lifting the knife up to waist high. No. No, she didn't want to do this. But she couldn't stop. Her plea for Toby to run died on her lips. She didn't understand why he was staying here. Why wouldn't he run. "I'm sorry," the words tore from her throat. She didn't mean to say it. She didn't want to say it. She didn't know why she was saying it. What was she doing? "I didn't want to do this," her voice sounded strangled. Probably because was fighting with everything inside of her not to do this.

She took another step forward, and Toby didn't move. "It's okay," he whispered. "I understand." His eyes, the eyes that she loved so much, were full of understanding. "I love you."

"I know," the voice that wasn't her replied. "And that's why I have to do this."

She took another heavy step, stumbling slightly. No. _No._ She lifted the knife to her chest level. She moved slowly, her motions jerky as she fought against whoever was making her do this. No. _**No.**_ She took another step forward, falling into his chest. The knife plunged into his stomach, blood quickly pouring out of the wound that she left behind. Her arms, acting of their own accord, yanked the knife out and slammed the knife into his stomach again.

She was crying now. On the inside she was sobbing hysterically, but on the outside a single tear ran down her cheek. His warm, sticky blood covered her as his heavy body collapsed into hers. His weight sent them both to the ground in a heap, and all that she remembered before the world faded into blackness was his bright blue eyes full of forgiveness.

* * *

 _Beep, beep, beep_

She couldn't breath. Her chest was on fire and the remains of whatever the hell that had been weighed heavily on her. She would never hurt Toby. She couldn't imagine a circumstances where she would ever hurt him. She would choose him over anything. But God, it seemed so real. It felt so real.

The scariest part of it all was that she was certain that in the cosmic, alternate universe that her nightmare was possible in, that was exactly how Toby would have reacted. It if kept her safe he would sacrifice himself, and that thought terrified her. Because they did live in a world where that could become real.

She tried to pry open her eyes but she couldn't. She couldn't open them, and she didn't understand what was going on.

 _Beep, beep, beep_

"How is she doing?"

Why did her mom sound like she was crying? And what was that beeping?

"Her condition is still the same. No improvement, but nothing has gotten worse either. And in cases like this that's actually really good news."

Condition? So she was in the hospital? She struggled to recall what happened, but the last thing that she remembered was dancing with Toby after they snuck into Rosewood's prom. Something had to have separated them, unless he was here too? Was he in the hospital? Was that why she had that nightmare?

She had to open her eyes. She had to figure this out, because the unknown was agonizing.

"What can we do to help her?"

Her chest fluttered in relief, but her heart also dropped because of the anguish that she heard in his voice. Oh Toby. He deserved all the happiness in the world, yet she continuously caused him nothing but pain. She couldn't do this to him any longer.

She was Spencer Hastings. She could do this. She was nothing if she weren't stubborn. She put every piece of focus and strength into prying her eyes open. She had to see him. She had to let him know that she was okay. But that wasn't a promise that she could make. She didn't know that she was okay. She couldn't feel anything. It felt like she was floating, falling. Their voices sounded like they were coming through a long tunnel. She might not be okay.

It took a few tries, but she managed to flutter her eyes open into slits. A quiet, weak whimper made its way out from her throat. It sounded pained and raspy, but she felt nothing. She couldn't see much more than shapes and blurs, but it was something. One of the blurs crouched down next to her and she knew that it was him. "Spencer?"

And suddenly it was like someone turned a switch on in her mind. All the pain that her brain had been suppressing hit her like a truck. It was agony. Her entire body was on fire, but it radiated out from her chest. Her eyes flew the rest of the way open, her back arched, and her eyes drifted shut slowly.

Her breathing slowed and then stopped and everything started to fade away.

 _Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep._

"Get in here! She's crashing!"

* * *

TPOV

He was numb. And maybe that was for the best. Because if he acted on the feelings that were lapping at the back of his mind, the only part of him that could feel anything, he might cause irreparable damage.

He was an eternal optimist. He saw the best in people and he saw the best in every situation that he was put in. That was until now, because there was nothing to be optimistic about here. He thought that she could get through this. He knew that Spencer was stubborn. She was the stubbornest person that he had ever met, but that was doing nothing for her now.

She was crashing, she was falling. Her body was betraying her. Her heart didn't want to pump her blood throughout her body. Her lungs didn't want to take in the life-giving air that was so necessary for her continued existence. Her injuries weren't healing as quickly as they should be. She was crashing. And for the first time he thought that she might make impact. She might not recover from this, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

He loved her. He loved her more than life itself. He cared about her more than any other single person in the world, including himself. Hell, especially himself. And if he could trade places with her it wouldn't even be a contest. Spencer was the one that was going places. She was the one that was going to change the world. She was his better in every way, and she deserved to live.

He pulled his legs to his chest and hid his face against his knees. He didn't want to look or see. He didn't want to even breath. Maybe if she died he would want to go with her.

 _"I'm sure that will mean a lot to your mom." It was a beautiful speech, and it was so true. You needed support to get through the hard times, and her mom had slowly started becoming more of a support system for her. It was pretty incredible to watch actually._

 _"Maybe," she said softly. She paused and tilted back so that she could see him. "but I wrote it about you."_

 _His chest soared. He loved her. He loved her with every single part of his entire soul. He loved her. He put a hand on the back of her neck and collided their lips together. This was more passionate a kiss than they usually shared in public, but he didn't care._

 _He loved her, and he would love her forever. He didn't care where the future took him. She was all he wanted._

"Toby."

He didn't respond. It was irrational, but he couldn't help but be upset with the other girls. They should have stopped. They should have _waited._ Spencer had had every single one of their backs for their entire lives, and they just left her behind when she needed them the most. Emily had been one of his best friends, but he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to look past this. He wasn't sure that they would be able to fix this.

She sighed lightly and sat down next to him, mimicking his position. She put something cold against his leg. "There's a bottle of water. Take care of yourself. Spencer would want that."

"Don't tell me what Spencer would want," he croaked out, immediately pissed at himself for talking. He wanted to save all of his words for Spencer. He didn't want to talk to anyone but her.

There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, Toby," Emily whispered, not apologizing for the water.

Maybe one day he would be able to forgive her.

Wren's POV

He felt like shit, but he knew that this was going to be the best time to do it, the _only_ time to do it. He was going to escape and he was going to finish what he started. He didn't leave things unfinished.

He shifted through the iPad that he had snagged from a younger, more attractive nurse and scrolled through it until he found the name that he was looking for. Spencer Hastings, RM. 208.

It was going to end as soon as he could walk. He close his eyes and leaned back against the pillow waiting for his damned body to heal to that point.


	6. Chapter 6

**This is really short. It was originally with the next chapter, but then it would have been OBNOXIOUSLY long. I like to keep chapters around 3,000 words max. Always leave them wanting more ;).**

 **But I promise this really was the best place to leave you off.**

 **This story is almost done, and I was thinking about starting another story after this when I have time again. If you have any ideas shoot me a PM or review, because I don't have much.**

Chapter 6

SPOV

Everything felt kind of numb. Like she had been outside in the cold a little too long. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on with her, but she knew it wasn't right. She didn't feel right.

The worst part was that she couldn't even open her eyes. If felt as though two weights were attached to her eyelids, constantly pulling them down. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew that it was imperative that she opened her eyes.

But maybe she didn't want to. This was comforting. It was warm. She felt safe here, and it had been an uncomfortable amount of time since she felt safe. Her gig as Spencer Hastings wasn't going too well as of late, so maybe it was time for her to try something different. Maybe it was time to stay in this dreary, colorless void.

Her whole life had been noise and excitement, pain and heartbreak... this nothing, this bleakness- it felt good. It felt relaxing. It felt like coming home to a warm embrace after a long day.

A quiet beeping started to fill her ears. _Beep, beep, beep._ She didn't know what it was. It was too slow to be an alarm clock. She couldn't hear anything by the beeps, and she still didn't feel anything besides a deep sense of peace. She felt good, and she didn't want to leave.

But she knew that she had to, if not for her sake than for Toby's. She remember the deep sense of dread and despair that she felt when she thought that he was dead, and that was not something that she would wish upon anyone, let alone the one person in the world that mattered most to her. Even if going back was going to be hell, she would do it for Toby. She would walk through the fire if it kept him safe and happy.

 _Beep, beep, beep._

Somehow the darkness started to swirl in exactly the matter that she imagined a hurricane would look like from above. Around and around the darkness spun until it gave away to a flash of light. The light didn't fade. Maybe it grew brighter, consuming everything that she knew. She winced and squinted the eyes that she had finally managed to pry open.

 _Beep, beep, beep._

A pair of unfamiliar green eyes peered down at her from the epicenter of the blinding light. "Miss Hastings? Are you awake?"

She hadn't realized that she was in a hospital until that exact moment. Because where else would she had been that they would ask such a stupid question. Her eyes were open, wasn't that a fairly obvious indicator. Another set of eyes looked down at her, and she didn't recognize them either. She whimpered. It was all too much. Where was everyone? Shouldn't someone be here? Where were the girls? Where was Toby? Or her mom?

"Miss Hastings I-"

She whimpered again. It was slightly muffled by the tubes running down her throat. She knew they were to help her breath, but right now they were just making her panic escalate. She wanted to see her hands, to see what else she was hooked up to, but she couldn't move. She could barely blink. The allusive beeping got louder and faster, showing her that it was a heart beat monitor.

"Hanna, can you turn the lights down?"

She shut her eyes in relief, snapping them back open as a familiar pair of blue eyes pushed into her vision. She relaxed into the pillows. Toby. And at least Hanna was there as well. They were okay, and because Toby was here she was okay as well. She could relax, because knew that he wouldn't let anything hurt her.

And leave it to Toby to know exactly what she needed without her having to ask.

His eyes were rimmed with red. "You're okay, Spencer. You're safe now, don't worry about anything."

She swallowed roughly, her lips closing over her breathing tubes. Her chest burned. It was like feeling was slowly coming back to her body. Her arms hurt. Her head hurt. Everything hurt.

Toby's gentle fingers ran down her jaw line. "Look at me," he murmured.

She shifted her eyes, unable to move anything else. His eyes were full of tears and some escaped down his chaffed cheeks. Was he crying before?

He gave her a sad smile. "You're okay. God, Spencer I love you. I love you so much. You could have-" he swallowed roughly. "I could have lost you, but you're okay."

His hand touched hers. It took everything she had to curl her fingers over the top of his. It wasn't quite holding his hand, but it was pretty close.

* * *

TPOV

She was awake. She was awake, and he was struggling to be happy about it. Because it was more than clear that she was barely even able to move. The breathing tube was still down her throat. Their tests indicated that she would struggle to breath without it. They shot off a long of medical jargon that he didn't understand, but essentially, what it summed up to was that they were afraid of her throat closing, and the difficulty they would have reinserting it if that happened.

The oxygen mask that covered her dwarfed her delicate features made her look so small. Her skin was peppered with needles and tubes, and it looked nearly translucent.

She was awake and he was still terrified. But she was awake.

"Toby?"

He ignored Aria's questions. His anger at the other girls increased tenfold with Spencer's slow and unsteady recovery, because he knew that she would be far less angry than they deserved. She risked everything for them and they didn't give her a second thought as they scurried out of the building, leaving her behind.

He kept his vigilant eyes on Spencer. She was sleeping, but if anything changed he would alert the nurses before the machines had a chance to. But even more than any of that, Wren was in the same building as her and that felt so fundamentally wrong. If anyone deserved to die in that blast it was that spineless bastard. And if anyone was going to by wryly enough to escape his round the clock guard it would be Wren Kingston. He wouldn't let her get hurt again.

He shouldn't have let her get hurt the first time.

He saw Aria nod out of the corner of his eye. "Listen, I know you're still mad at us, and I don't blame you. I'm mad at us too. But she's going to need all of us. She'll need us and she'll need you. Spencer's the most perceptive person in basically the entire world. She's going to know something's up. At least fake it for her sake."

She was right, but he wasn't going to admit that to her right now. He wasn't going to divert his eyes. He wasn't going to speak, because that was reserved for people that he cared about. And right now, the only person in the world that held that honor was Spencer. Of all of her friends, Aria was the one that had taken the least time to get to know him, and she was the one that it hurt the least to disappoint. He was glad that it wasn't Emily.

Spencer moaned in her sleep, from pain or some disturbing dream he wasn't sure. He tightened his grip on her hand. He was here and he wasn't going anywhere.

Spencer's eyes blinked open again, the beautiful brown- his favorite color. They were hazier than usual, but she was there. She was there, and it was the best feeling in the world to know that she would be okay. He didn't want to get his hopes up, because the last time she opened her eyes was the closest he ever came to losing her for good. But right now he couldn't help but allow himself to be saturated with hope.

He brought her unbandaged hand to his lips, brushing a gentle kiss over the top of all of her knuckles. She looked scared, and he didn't blame her. It had to be a difficult thing not to be able to talk, to wake up and not know what was going on, but to also not be able to inquired about it.

"You're okay," he said softly. "It looks a lot scarier than it is, or so I've been told. I don't know if the doctors were just trying to placate me, but because you're awake I'm inclined to believe them."

She didn't take her eyes off of his, but her other hand weakly brushed over the tubes that snaked down her throat. He winced. "Yeah, that can't be comfortable, can it? They said a lot that I don't understand, but the way your mom explained it was that they did some tests. Those tests showed them that you might have trouble breathing on your own still. There was some damaged to your neck in the explosion, and they're worried that if your throat closes up they won't be able to get a tube back down it. Once you get to a certain level they'll take it out."

Her fingers, almost imperceptibly, tightened over his. "What do you need?" He asked her softly. "Can you do that again? One for yes, two for no?"

It took a moment, but she squeezed again. He nodded. "Okay. Are you okay? Do you need something?"

Two soft squeezes gave him a negative. "Alright, did you have a question?"

One squeeze. He smiled, using his free hand to brush away the tears that were starting to fall again. "Okay, let's see how well I can predict the way your brain works. You want to know what happened?"

There was some noise from her as she lightly squeezed his hand one time. He grinned. He couldn't stop himself. "You're nothing if not predictable," he laughed quietly. "I got there just as the other girls were tumbling out of the building. When I saw that you weren't with them I shouldered back in. Luckily you guys hadn't gotten too far inside or I might not have gotten to you in time. I found Alison almost right away, but it took me longer to find you. It took me a few minutes to dig you out, but once I did I picked you up and we got out just as the ambulance was getting there."

She squeezed his hand three times. "Three?" He asked her. "What does that- Oh," he said softly. "Me? How am I?"

One squeeze. He could see the ghost of a smile below the mask covering her lips. "Really? You're asking about me? I guess you wouldn't be you if you didn't," he sighed. "I got a small burn on my shoulder and ruined a pair of pants in the building. Emotionally, though? That was the hardest thing I have ever experienced by a significant margin. You can't leave me, Spencer."

She nodded. He took that as her agreeing. "I love you," he whispered. "God, I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Two chapters to go! I apologize this is taking so long guys! I'm hella busy!**

 **Let me know what you think, okay!? I really want to know. LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU GUYS TO THE MOON AND BACK**

SPOV

Everything was hazy. People faded in and out of her vision. The only staring role was Toby's. She hadn't seen him leave once, which was comforting. But she also hadn't ever seen him eat, which was frustrating. They had her on some strong medication, but it wasn't so strong that she didn't feel concern for her obviously devoted boyfriend.

Her body was calm, but that serenity was newly brought about by the increased cocktail of drugs that had her under. She mentally winced at the memory of them trying to ween her off of the sedatives. The feeling of the breathing tube down her throat, breathing for her... she panicked, her injured body thrashing around as she gagged and choked. They had to put her back under, and that hadn't been fun for anyone.

She could still feel it, but somehow it was less terrifying when the world was blurry and full of unrecognizable shapes and figures. It was comforting, the gentle swoosh of the machine forcing periodic breaths down her throat. Fifteen breaths a minute, whether she wanted them or not. The breathing tube would keep her alive, and she needed to stay alive for Toby.

"Spencer? Can you hear me?"

She peered up at the nurse with her bleary eyes. She only had her eyes on the nurse for a second before scanning the room for the only face that she wanted to see. Toby's eyes were on her face from off to the side. He took her fingers and brought them to his lips, brushing them over her battered hand. He didn't say anything, but that was how she knew that he was with her. She didn't have to be able to speak to see the raw emotion in his eyes.

The nurse clearly took her eye movement as affirmation, because she continued to speak. "Every test we've done indicates that you're ready to be weaned off the intubation, but i have to warn you that this part is not pleasant."

She wished she was up to her normal levels of strength so that shes could give the nurse the deploring look that she deserved. Of course it was going to hurt. There was a half dollar sized tube fused to her throat. But with Toby's hands on her hand and her friend okay she knew that she could get through this.

The pain was blinding. It felt like someone was ripping her esophagus out with a hook. It felt like she was dying, and coming back to life all at the same time. As soon as the tube was out she started coughing violently. The kind of coughs that worked through her entire body. It felt like they lasted for an eternity before they eased off.

A cold stethoscope was pressed against her chest. She shivered and opened her eyes. The nurse was peering down at her. "How are you, Ms. Hastings? Are you having an difficulty breathing?"

She shook her head, still sucking in deep, painful breaths. She was okay. She was fine. "I-I'm o-o-okay," she stuttered out. Her throat felt like it was on fire. "I think I'm o-okay."

The nurse nodded, glancing at a machine next to her bed. "Okay. Please hit the call button if you need anything." She left quickly, staring at her chart as she walked away.

Toby immediately sat on the edge of her bed, his hand on her face. "Are you okay?"

She just shook her head, looking somewhere around his chest. "I don't know." She was still breathing hard, her chest heaving with every single breath.

His fingers found her chin, tilting her face up. It was a long moment of silence before he spoke. He gave her that perfect kind of look that made it feel like his clear blue eyes were looking straight through her. "Is there anything you need? Anything at all?"

"Just you," she said simply. He couldn't leave her side, because her illusion of safety in this stupid town was shattered. If Wren was her enemy that meant that anyone could be. Anyone, anywhere could be plotting against her. Toby was the only one she was sure was unreservedly on her side. She needed that security right now. "Are the other three okay?"

Toby's face hardens significantly. "Yes."

She smiles despite herself, bringing her IV-ed hand to lightly touch the one that he had on her face. "It wasn't their fault."

"They left you," he said seriously. "they could have helped you, but instead they left you behind."

If their situations were reversed she would be just as mad as he was. But because it happened to her and not to him she could see logic and reason. "I told them to run. If they had stayed we would all probably be here like this."

His face was twisted with indecision. "I-" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "I don't think that I'm going to be able to see it like that for awhile."

She smiled a little doppily. It was probably a result of the cocktail of pain medication still swimming through her blood. "How long have I been in here for?"

Toby grimaced, a light smile now back on his face. "Four long, awful days. The other girls are at home. They'll be back tonight. Your mom is getting coffee and your dad is dealing with an emergency at the office, but he'll be back soon."

She nodded, sinking back into the pillows. She was exhausted, but she was also feeling really peaceful. She survived. How many times had someone tried to kill her now? Although she supposed that wasn't the important part. The important part was the zero times that they had succeeded. She felt unstoppable in a really vulnerable way. "When was the last time you ate anything?"

"Spencer," he groaned. But he didn't look annoyed at all. He actually looked really happy. "Don't worry about me right now."

"You need to eat," she insisted, smiling.

He shook his head, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"You're an idiot," she offered with a quiet giggle. "And I love you too."

His thumb brushed over her lips. "Your lips are finally getting a little color back to them. You look alright."

"I'm glad I waited until right now so I could crash this sappy little party."

Toby jerked around, putting a hand in front of her chest. Cece Drake was what she saw first, and hovering somewhere just behind her was Melissa. "Melissa?" Spencer whispered before she realized what she was saying.

Melissa looked as upset as Spencer felt, as close to tears as she had ever seen her. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I didn't want to do this."

Cece laughed, jerking the gun that she had pointing in their direction. "Unhook her, loverboy. We're going to go see the boss."

Her fingers inched toward the call button. Cece noticed it immediately, laughing. "Do you think we're worried about getting caught? The game is going to end tonight, you bitch."

Toby looked torn. "I don't think so," he said reluctantly.

Cece shrugged. "Then get out of the way. Melissa can get her."

Toby gentle fingers moved to her hand, brushing over the IV, gently pulling it out and pressing a rag to the bleeding. "Everything will be okay," he murmured. "I'll make sure that you're safe."


	8. Chapter 8

**1\. Please do not give me another chapter with 3 reviews. Sorry I haven't updated a ton, but I am always working hard for you, and I don't love not getting a response. Thanks Kristhefangirl for still reviewing everything though.**

 **2\. This got hella creepy, my bad. Actually, sorry not sorry!**

 **This is how it should have ended, because everything about A suggested that they wouldn't give up as easily as Cece did. Okay bye. See you on my next story.**

Chapter 8

TPOV

His chest ached as he carried her off to their uncertain future. She weighed practically nothing in his arms. He wasn't worried about himself; he knew it was stupid, but his future didn't matter so much to him. The only reason that he cared at all about his future was because Spencer had brought him back to life. She was the only reason that there was any light in his life. He would protect her with everything that he had.

Her breathing was labored as she tucked her face into his shirt, her small fingers grasping at the fabric. "Don't be stupid," she breathed, her warm, shaky breath pleasantly warming his clammy skin.

He smiled despite the situation. "No promises."

"You're an idiot," she mumbled.

He hesitated as they walked by the nurses' station, his heart clenching painfully as he saw three nurses slumped in various positions. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was absolutely terrified. Melissa led them into a room, and he felt anger surge in his stomach when he saw Wren sitting up in his bed. How was it that that bastard was recovering faster than Spencer? "What the fuck do you want?" He cursed uncharacteristically.

Wren grinned and pulled himself up without even a wince. "Good job, my pets." He walked to Cece and smoothed her air down, like he was rewarding a dog for fetching a stick. It was sick, especially the way that Cece leaned in to it, like Wren's approval was all that she ever wanted. His face hardened as he looked at Toby and Spencer. "Put her down, Cavanaugh."

"Not a chance in hell." There was no hesitation. He wouldn't be doing that.

A shiny gun was in Wren's steady hands. He hesitated, setting Spencer upright but still supporting all of her weight. That was as good as it was going to get, and he didn't care what Wren had to say about that. He could shoot him if he wanted to. It was preferable to any of the host of outcomes that would leave Spencer even more injured than she already was.

Wren gave him a hard look before nodding his acceptance. "I supposed that is acceptable," he said in the British accent that Toby now knew was fake. "but know, Cavanaugh, any misbehaving on your part and she's going to pay for it, not you."

Spencer snorted, slumping further in to him. He buried one hand in her hair and curled the other around her waist. She leaned on him with all of her body weight, which was what he wanted. He didn't want her to even attempt to support herself. "If you think that worries me at this point," she began in a low, labored voice. "than you haven't learned a-anything about me." She struggled to get the last part out.

His lips were in her hair. "Shh," he breathed into her ear. She needed to conserve her strength, because he didn't know what it would take for them to get out of this.

Wren let out a hacking cough and he had to smile, because it felt good to see him in some kind of pain. Especially when Spencer couldn't even stand up on her own. Wren grinned at the two of them. "You might wonder why I brought you here today," he said, finally dropping the accent. He stroked the gun with two fingers. Cece walked next to him, her gun still in hand as well.

His eyes narrowed. He ran through idea after idea in his mind, none of which he could be sure to get the two of them out of their unscathed, none of which guaranteed that _just Spencer_ would get out unscathed. That was more important to him, but he couldn't think of a way to guarantee even that. Wren grinned and took a step forward. "Don't look so constipated, Toby. I've got grand plans for all five of us."

He still didn't answer. His lips were in Spencer's hair, his eyes on her face. He was going to be certain that she was okay, because that was all that mattered to him anymore. Wren, clearly fed up with his lack of a response, lifted his gun and pointed it at the two of them. His heart clenched and he shifted, being sure that his body was between Spencer and the gun.

But Wren just laughed and shifted, firing the gun behind them. Spencer cried out and slumped deeper in to him. He pulled her tighter and glanced back as Melissa fell to the ground, blood pouring out of her chest. "Oh my God," Spencer sobbed into him. "oh my God. Wren please. Just let him go. Let Toby go, o-okay? Y-you have me. That's w-what you want, right?"

"Spencer," he snapped. "Stop." He wasn't sure how he was supposed to hold her up, to keep her safe and to protect her all at the same time. Tears welled up in his eyes at the frustration of it all. He didn't know what to do. Should he go help Melissa?

Wren nodded at Cece, who took a large step forward. She pulled out her gun and brushed the cool metal up his arm. He tightened his grip on Spencer, but he didn't shift away. He didn't want to antagonize the girl with the gun. Wren stood in front of them, talking as though he were watching an interesting television show. "I haven't decided how this ends yet. We can make this easy or we can make this hard."

Cece moved to put the gun on Spencer, but he jerked her away before he could. They could mess with him all day, but they wouldn't be hurting her. Not any longer. Cece cackled. "Oh, protective. I like it."

Wren rolled his eyes again, pointing his gun toward them. Once again, he covered Spencer's body with his, but the gun shot he was expecting didn't hit them. Cece fell into them as she fell to the ground. He couldn't see where the blood was coming from, but she didn't get up again. He hoisted Spencer back up and in to his arms and grabbed the gun from next to Cece's body, pointing it at Wren.

He squatted down, the gun still pointing at Wren. "Spence, can you get on my back?"

Her ragged breathing wasn't reassuring, but she nodded against his shoulder. She used his body as she shifted to his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He put one hand on her thigh and pulled her up, all the while keeping the gun trained on Wren. If for no other reason than this very moment, he was endlessly grateful for his stint as a police officer, if for no other reason than for the fact that he knew how to work this gun.

Wren let out a hysterical laugh as he looked at the gun. "Do it then. Do it. Shoot me!"

He hesitated, lowering the gun just slightly. There was something off about this whole thing. He focused on Spencer's steady breaths against his back as he tried to work out what his gut was telling him.

Wren's voice cracked as he continued, his tone shooting up an octave. "Come on man. I almost killed your girl, more than once actually. I almost got her blow up. I almost barbecued her in the steam room. I almost froze her to death at that demented ice cream factory. I tried to kill her more than once in my bunker. And you. I did manage to kill your mom."

He could feel the rage billowing up, but he kept his cool, one hand on Spencer's thigh and the other holding the gun. He lowered it again. "Do you- do you _want_ me to kill you?"

Wren's face crumpled as he waved the gun around. "I have nothing left. My dolls are gone. My sister is gone. It's time to go out with a bang, yeah? Everything is gone. My family is gone."

He felt something in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure whether it was pity or anger or both. The anger was edging its way to the top though. Really, would anyone blame him for shooting Wren? He was a cop, right? It was self-defense. He was neutralizing the situation. And if he was dead then Spencer's nightmare would be gone. If Wren was dead he could finally get revenge for his mom. He could finally start to get closure on that part of his life. He could end this.

"Toby," Spencer whispered into his ear, her head against his shoulder from the back. He was sure that she could feel the way he shivered embarrassingly as the feel of her breath against his skin. "T-this isn't you. D-don't let him turn you in to someone that you are not. Put the gun d-down."

He took in a deep breath. He didn't put the gun down, but he lowered it slightly. Wren wasn't having that. He opened his mouth to protest, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by the sound of people bursting into the room. He dove to the side, twisting so that Spencer was underneath him as the room filled with gun fire. He wasn't sure if it came from Wren or their new friends, he wasn't even sure which way was up. He just tightened his grip on Spencer, fighting to make themselves smaller. He didn't particularly want to get shot, as much as he would prefer that it was him over her.

It felt like an eternity, but really it was only a few seconds before the shots ended. He didn't move though. It could have been a trick.

"Toby, it's okay."

His head jerked up so quickly his neck cracked. "Hanna?" He lifted his head and saw a few police officers by the door, and Wren on the ground, bleeding from his chest. He gently pulled Spencer back up, who didn't speak. She just tucked her face in to his shirt and breathed heavily. He looked down at her. "Walk with me, I need to get her back to her room."

The blonde trailed after him. He could tell that she was crying from her tone of voice. "I was down the hall when Cece and Melissa took you. I called the police."

He nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

"I had too, you know? This was all my fault to begin with. If I had just looked behind me I could have prevented all of this." She whispered as they walked into the room.

He took his time settling Spencer back in. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. That seemed most important. He hooked the oxygen back over her face and sat down next to her, taking her hand as he looked at Hanna. "It was as much my fault as it was yours," he said softly, finally admitting to the crushing guilt he had been feeling. "I never should have left you guys at the dance. You're prone to make the stupidest decisions possible," he laughed a little tearfully. "I knew that."

Hanna shook her head. "We would have found a way to go anyway. You know that."

He smiled sadly. "Well if I can't blame myself you can't either, because we both know that Spencer would have found a way to be the last one out of that building." It was manipulation, and Spencer would have been proud. But the smile that was on Hanna's face made it all worth it.

Spencer's fingers squeezed his hand. She had his full attention, his eyes on her face and his free hand stroking her cheek. His smile grew. "It's over," he said softly. "I think it's finally over."

* * *

5 years later

SPOV

She took the flowers from Toby's hand to give him two free hands to help their daughter out of the backseat. "Riley," he groaned, trying to keep a hold of their squirmy two year old. "You need to stay with us."

"Why?" She chirped, skipping off ahead.

Spencer smiled sadly, watching her brown curls bounce as she danced among the grave stones. "What kind of trouble could she get in to in a cemetery?" Spencer laughed.

Toby gave her a look. "She _is_ your daughter."

Spencer laughed for real this time. "Okay, good point." She rose her voice a little bit. "Riley, come help Mommy carry these flowers. They're really heavy."

Riley turned around immediately, skipping back and putting two hands on Spencer's pregnant belly. "Baby?"

Toby took advantage of Riley's distraction and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. She shrieked with laughter. "Put me down, Daddy!"

"Nope," Toby grinned.

Spencer was momentarily distracted. The way his muscles shifted in his arms as he held their daughter was indescribably attractive. She paused in front of Melissa's grave, propping up the roses on Melissa's grave. She supposed that she should say something sentimental, but nothing was coming to mind. She had loved her sister deeply, but her death made it possible for her to live again. And for that reason she couldn't bring herself to feel too sad over her passing. But in that same breath, she couldn't stop herself from bringing roses once a year. It felt like the right thing to do.

Toby returned to her side, their daughter still draped over his shoulder. He put his free hand on the small of her back. "All good?" His eyes were concerned, although he struggled to hide that from Riley. He was there for the worst of it. He was there for every single moment, holding her up when she didn't think that she could stand any longer. He knew what the memories had the potential to do to her.

But despite all that she nodded, her hand going up to brush along the jagged scar, the only remnants of the end of her nightmare. "I'm good. Everything is perfect."


End file.
